Phase 1 Rehab
Any injury stimulates inflammation, which is needed to begin the repair and healing process. That's important, but it's also painful. When you're in this state, I call it Phase 1 rehab: we need to heal the injury, settle down the swelling and reduce the pain. That can take a few days, or a few weeks, in most cases.
Some people finish Phase 1 and are feeling out of pain and so they stop there. That might be just fine. In other cases, you may feel that you would like to build up your reserves to reduce the chance of problems in the future. That's where Phase 2 Rehab might come in handy.
Phase 2 Rehab
This is when we figure out what part of your body is not working well and come up with a plan on how to fix that. This is a preventative approach - to reduce the chance that the problem will come back again. I'm a specialist in this type of physiotherapy, and I take great pride in helping you fix these underlying problems. Once we figure out what corrective exercises you need, you'll have to work at them for a number of weeks or months to really benefit.
Phase 2 rehab is where you turn back the clock and reverse some of the aging changes that have occurred over the years . If you want your joints to last longer, this will be time well spent.
Fixing the roof leak
I think of this like a roof leak in the kitchen. There are two problems: a puddle on the floor and a hole in the ceiling. The first thing you do is wipe up the puddle. But if that's all you do, the puddle will come back. Getting up on the roof to fix the leak might be worth the effort for some people. As a physiotherapist, I have a good towel for wiping up the puddle, and I've got a great ladder and a set of tools for getting up on your roof and helping you patch the hole.